Become a crime scene investigator! Learners model Dawn Mission scientists, engineers, and technologists and how they use instrumentation to detect distant worlds. After a briefing to build context, students explore interactions between different...(View More) frequencies/wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum and matter as they investigate the different ways scientists gather and understand remote sensing data, using Dawn instruments as examples. This module is organized around a learning cycle, engaging students through several experiences to activate students' prior knowledge and assess conceptual understanding, informing next steps.(View Less)

This is an online game associated with activities during Solar Week, a twice-yearly event in March and October during which classrooms are able to interact with scientists studying the Sun. Outside of Solar Week, information, activities, and...(View More) resources are archived and available online at any time. Learners view images of celebrities in various stages of pixellation to try to guess who the celebrity is by viewing images that are highly pixellated down to images that are more defined. This relates to astronomical image resolution and how the number of pixels defines the resolution of an image. This activity is scheduled to occur during Tuesday of Solar Week.(View Less)

In this lesson, students will learn about the water cycle and how energy from the sun and the force of gravity drive this cycle. The emphasis in this lesson will be on having students understand the processes that take place in moving water through...(View More) Earth’s system.(View Less)

In this engineering challenge, student teams are introduced to the engineering design process, and then construct and test an earthquake-resistant structure. The lesson plan includes teacher support, student worksheets, multimedia assets, and links...(View More) for students to conduct Web-based investigations. Authentic assessments, a multiple choice test, and rubrics are included. This is an optional extension activity associated with the resource, Flight Mission Challenge: Improving Earthquake Monitoring, a 3 part, multiple-day Earth science and engineering investigation.(View Less)

In this lesson on cosmic rays, students will explain two examples of a cosmic ray detector. Includes information about student preconceptions and a demonstration that requires a geiger counter and optional access to a small radioactive source that...(View More) emits energetic helium nuclei (alpha particles), e.g., the mineral the mineral autunite, which contains uranium. This is activity two of four from The Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER).(View Less)

This is a lesson about detecting atmospheres of planets. Learners will explore stellar occultation events (by interpreting light curves) to determine if an imaginary dwarf planet "Snorkzat" has an atmosphere. The activity is part of Project Spectra,...(View More) a science and engineering program for middle-high school students, focusing on how light is used to explore the Solar System.(View Less)

Learners will explore different ways of displaying visual spectra, including colored "barcode" spectra, like those produced by a diffraction grating, and line plots displaying intensity versus color, or wavelength. Students learn that a diffraction...(View More) grating acts like a prism, bending light into its component colors. The activity is part of Project Spectra, a science and engineering program for middle-high school students, focusing on how light is used to explore the Solar System.(View Less)

This is an activity about the Doppler effect. Learners begin by simulating the noise made by a passing siren. After learning that the change in pitch results from movement, they investigate the definition of frequency, calculate change in frequency,...(View More) and learn how this applies to light and the study of astronomy. This lesson requires a Doppler ball, also referred to as a buzzer ball.(View Less)

This is an activity about the concept of direct versus indirect sunlight. Learners construct and use a sun angle analyzer to investigate the effect of angle on area illuminated. The fraction of light on each square of the analyzer is then calculated...(View More) and compared. A discussion at the end relates the results to the amount of sunlight falling on different parts of the Earth and the effect this has on temperature and seasons. Reprinted with permission from the Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS).(View Less)

This resource describes the physics behind the formation of clouds, and provides a demonstration of those principles using a beaker, ice, a match, hot water, and a laser pointer. This resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a...(View More) collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.(View Less)